Gainer (from the English gain - gain) is a type of sports nutrition, a protein-carbohydrate cocktail that athletes and bodybuilders take to build muscle mass. The sports nutrition industry offers a wide variety of gainers in bulky colorful jars, but why pay for something that you can make yourself from the available products?
This article tells you how to make a gainer at home, in what cases and how to use it so that it contributes to the maximum increase in muscle volume and strength.
Homemade gainer recipes
Below are recipes for homemade mass gainers, follow the recommended intake, taking into account the nutritional value and total daily caloric intake of the diet. The largest share of the daily diet should be foods containing complex carbohydrates and proteins.
Protein-carbohydrate cocktail option No. 1
This homemade gainer contains a predominant amount of carbohydrates, thanks to the nutritional value of oatmeal, banana and the glycemic index of peanut butter. The cocktail also contains fats necessary to add energy value to the gainer. This cocktail is great for taking before a workout, consumed an hour before.
Ingredients:
- 1 glass of milk (300 ml);
- 100 g oatmeal;
- 1 banana;
- 1 tsp. peanut butter.
Cooking method:
- Pour a glass of milk over oatmeal, add banana and butter.
- Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a blender and consume before or after training.
- Do not store the milkshake for more than two hours in its finished form.
Protein-carbohydrate cocktail option No. 2
This homemade gainer also has high nutritional and energy value; the high content of carbohydrates and fats will give strength during training and prevent muscle destruction. It can also be consumed on an empty stomach on rest days .
Ingredients:
- 1 glass of orange juice;
- 100 g oatmeal;
- 1 tbsp. l. walnuts or peanuts.
Preparation:
- Mix freshly squeezed orange juice with oatmeal.
- Chop the nuts in advance - beat all the ingredients with a blender until smooth.
- You can add a teaspoon of honey to enhance the sweetness and calorie content.
Option protein-carbohydrate cocktail No. 3
This homemade fermented milk gainer recipe is suitable for use both before and after training. To increase sweetness, you can add 2 tsp. honey or replace with any natural sweetener.
Ingredients:
- 1 glass of kefir;
- 1 tbsp. l. almonds;
- 1⁄2 cup oatmeal;
- 1 tsp. honey
Preparation:
- Grind the almonds first.
- Add nuts, oatmeal and honey to a glass of kefir.
- Blend with a blender for 30-60 seconds.
Option protein-carbohydrate cocktail No. 4
This homemade protein gainer recipe is suitable for use after a workout or at night. The shake is rich in protein - about 30 g per serving, with low sugar content, the main sources of which are lactose and fructose. The recipe with cottage cheese is an excellent option for closing the protein-carbohydrate window.
Ingredients:
- 1 glass of milk;
- 100 g cottage cheese;
- 50 g oatmeal;
- 1 cup blueberries or raspberries.
Preparation:
- Rinse the berries.
- Add low-fat cottage cheese to milk.
- Mix all ingredients and whisk thoroughly to break the curd into small particles.
- You can add honey or stevia powder to taste.
Option protein-carbohydrate cocktail No. 5
And this homemade gainer has an excellent strawberry-banana flavor. Thanks to the eggs, the smoothie contains healthy fats and proteins. Chicken eggs can be easily replaced with quail eggs (about 100 g). It is great to take post-workout or on an empty stomach in the morning.
Ingredients:
- 1 glass of milk;
- 1 banana;
- 100 g strawberries;
- 2 eggs.
Preparation:
- Rinse the strawberries.
- Mix all ingredients by adding 2 whole raw eggs to the mixture.
- If desired, add any natural sweeteners.
- Beat the cocktail in a blender.
Option protein-carbohydrate cocktail No. 6
The recipe is especially for coffee lovers, as the cocktail has a mild coffee taste. The tonic effect of coffee makes the cocktail a kind of pre-workout. It can also be taken in the morning on rest days .
Ingredients:
- 300 ml milk;
- 2 tsp. instant coffee;
- 5 g vanilla sugar;
- 100 g oatmeal;
- 1 banana.
Preparation:
- Dissolve coffee in warm, but not boiled milk, and cool.
- Add cereal, banana, vanilla sugar and thoroughly beat all ingredients with a blender.
Description, benefits and harm
For those who are unfamiliar with the topic of the article, a gainer is a food supplement in the form of a protein-carbohydrate mixture with a high calorie content. Carbohydrates are used by the body to provide energy to the body, and proteins are used to build muscle tissue.
In addition, minerals and vitamins are added to gainers. The name of these mixtures is associated with the English word gain, which means “increase, increase.”
Sports nutrition stores are filled with various gainers, but now we will discuss how you can make such a nutritional supplement at home. For this you will need a little time.
It is difficult to say whether there will be fewer chemicals in your diet, or whether health and digestive problems will decrease if you begin to actively use a homemade gainer. At least it is no less healthy than regular food, but its value lies in the fact that it consists of the correct proportion of proteins and carbohydrates, and also contains a minimum of fat.
To turn regular food into a gainer at home, you will have to work a little, highlighting the nutritional value of each product and calculating the overall results.
It cannot be denied that amino acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals from vegetables and fruits will make a homemade cocktail healthier than its factory-made counterparts. Therefore, focus on the quality of the preparation of food mixtures.
What sports nutrition sellers won't tell you?
Considering the fact that factory-made gainer contains many chemicals and additives, its frequent and excessive use can lead to liver and kidney diseases. The home option can lead to loose stools (diarrhea).
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ft4M2X0AFZw
Gainer action
The main goal of mixtures called gainers is to gain weight. The effect is achieved by saturating the powder composition with carbohydrates and other beneficial substances. By taking protein-carbohydrate mixtures, you can significantly increase the number of calories entering the body, which will allow you to adjust a person’s weight upward.
In fact, a shake that consists mainly of carbohydrates is an energy bomb. At one moment, many “units” of energy enter the body. He will immediately process some of them, restoring strength after training. Any excess of carbohydrates can lead to a situation in which the body begins to lay down extra “bricks”, filling fatty tissue.
The gainer lasts only a few hours, ideal for use immediately after training, while the protein-carbohydrate window is open. During periods of non-training, it is recommended to take it only for those who have a calorie deficit in their diet. Most often, this type of sports nutrition is used by ectomorphs, given the fast metabolic rate.
People who are prone to obesity should not take the supplement due to the large number of calories. It is better for such people to drink protein shakes.
Making gainer at home
Using a gainer will help increase the caloric content of your diet when it is difficult to do this only using regular products.
The problem with most weight gainers on the market is that they are loaded with fast sugars as a source of carbohydrates. Not only can this lead to an increase in the fat component in the body, their daily consumption can have a negative impact on health.
Use a commercial product only when necessary. Make a healthy gainer at home in your own kitchen using our recipes.
The main goal of the gainer
You need sports nutrition of this kind to gain muscle mass. Both beginners and experienced athletes will be able to use it to help the body restore its energy reserves in the shortest possible time. As the experience of a large number of athletes has proven, the gainer is very effective. The same has been proven by numerous tests by scientists.
Ideal gainer formula
A mass gainer is not a magic product that will build muscle better than a regular protein powder.
It is intended for people who cannot consume enough calories and nutrients from regular food. This is mainly true for athletes aiming to gain muscle mass and people with fast metabolisms.
A commercial mass gainer is a combination of a fast-absorbing protein source, such as whey protein, and a cheap carbohydrate source, maltodextrin.
While whey protein has an excellent amino acid profile, maltodextrin is a fast carbohydrate that has the ability to raise blood glucose and insulin even faster and higher than sugar. Therefore, a gainer prepared at home with the addition of natural products will be more useful.
Gainer can be consumed at breakfast, before, during and after workouts, or before bed.
Purpose
Gainer is a high-calorie product that helps solve several main problems at once:
- increase energy levels;
- stock up on the necessary “depot” of glycogen in muscle fibers. This function is fully taken over by complex carbohydrates;
- provide the body with the required amount of protein for the full growth of muscle mass;
- if necessary, replace one or more meals when it is not possible to eat normally;
- “close” the protein window after the training process.
Despite the rich composition and effectiveness, you need to take the supplement correctly, clearly know the time of administration and the optimal amount of grams, taking into account the tasks.
Gainer recipes
Homemade weight gainer will add a quality source of protein, carbohydrates, fiber, essential fatty acids, minerals and vitamins to your diet.
The basic recipe can be easily modified to suit your taste preferences and calorie needs. Just mix all the ingredients in a blender.
Products that can be used to prepare gainer:
- The protein component of the shake is provided by the use of whey protein powder. You can use natural cottage cheese and milk.
- As a source of carbohydrates, choose fruits and berries (banana, strawberries, blueberries), oatmeal or honey.
- For a source of healthy fats, you can use natural nut butters from peanuts, almonds, or walnuts, as well as olive, coconut, or flaxseed oils.
- Depending on the calorie content of the gainer you want, use skim or whole milk. You can additionally add yogurt, cream or ice cream to increase the calories.
- For healthy vitamin and mineral supplements, add spinach, lettuce, or other greens to your smoothie.
Basic Gainer Recipe Using Protein Powder
- 2 scoops of protein of any flavor;
- 100 g oatmeal;
- 1 tablespoon of nut or vegetable oil;
- 1 banana;
- 200 ml milk (3.2% fat);
- water/ice to achieve the desired consistency of the cocktail.
Grind the oatmeal to a fine powder and blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth.
The finished cocktail can be stored in the refrigerator, consumed immediately, or divided into smaller portions to be taken at different meals.
| Product | Weight (g) | Protein (g) | Carbohydrates (g) | Fat (g) | Calorie content (kcal) |
| Milk | 200 | 5.6 | 9.4 | 6.4 | 118 |
| Cereals | 100 | 7 | 78.3 | 0.7 | 372 |
| Banana | 100 | 1.5 | 22.4 | 96 | |
| Oil | 17 | 17 | 153 | ||
| Protein | 60 | 44.5 | 3.7 | 2.8 | 211 |
| Total: | 477 | 58.6 | 113.8 | 26.9 | 950 |
Orange gainer
- A glass of milk (3.2% fat);
- 100 g heavy cream (20% fat);
- a glass of orange juice;
- 2 scoops of orange or vanilla flavored protein.
| Product | Weight (g) | Protein (g) | Carbohydrates (g) | Fat (g) | Calorie content (kcal) |
| Milk | 250 | 7 | 11.8 | 8 | 145 |
| Cream | 100 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 20 | 206 |
| Orange juice | 250 | 1.8 | 33.3 | 140 | |
| Protein | 60 | 44.5 | 3.7 | 2.8 | 211 |
| Total: | 660 | 56.1 | 52.4 | 30.8 | 702 |
Gainer with mint and ice cream
- A glass of milk (3.2% fat);
- a glass of cream or chocolate ice cream;
- 2 scoops vanilla or chocolate protein;
- a few fresh mint leaves or a quarter spoon of mint extract.
| Product | Weight (g) | Protein (g) | Carbohydrates (g) | Fat (g) | Calorie content (kcal) |
| Milk | 250 | 7 | 11.8 | 8 | 145 |
| Ice cream | 180 | 5.9 | 35.6 | 18 | 328 |
| Protein | 60 | 44.5 | 3.7 | 2.8 | 211 |
| Mint | — | ||||
| Total: | 490 | 57.4 | 51.1 | 28.8 | 684 |
Gainer based on natural products
- 400 ml milk with reduced fat content (1.5% fat);
- 250 g low-fat cottage cheese (less than 1% fat);
- 1 banana;
- 100 g oatmeal.
Milk and cottage cheese will provide the cocktail with a fairly high percentage of protein. Bananas will add sweetness and valuable nutrients such as magnesium, potassium, vitamin B6, serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine.
Is it possible to find an equivalent replacement?
Any sports nutrition can always be successfully replaced with other products. Gainer is no exception. Bakery products, of course, are not worth considering, since they are characterized by a complex structure. In addition, they have a long period of digestibility. Another disadvantage of such products is that, if consumed in large quantities, they can complicate digestion in general, which should not be the case in principle. You can replace this kind of sports nutrition with porridge. It can be anything - buckwheat, rice, oatmeal, corn, wheat, etc. You just need to pay attention to the nutritional value and find the option that is characterized by the largest amount of carbohydrates in its composition. The only and big drawback of the porridge is that after a month you won’t be able to look at it.
Compositions and types
The gainer includes:
- base - milk, yogurt or juice;
- proteins - cottage cheese, whey protein or skim milk powder;
- carbohydrates - honey, jam, oats, fructose, maltodextrin or dextrose.
Depending on the types of carbohydrates, there are 2 types of gainers:
Slow carbohydrates have a low rate of glucose entering the blood. For this reason, when they are consumed, pronounced hyperglycemia does not occur.
It is recommended to take gainers correctly in between meals and immediately after training, 2-3 servings of 250-300 ml each for people with an asthenic physique (thin people or ectomorphs) and 1-2 servings for endo- and mesomorphs. Proper use will help you gain muscle mass.
You can prepare the gainer yourself. The following recipes will help you make your own high-calorie cocktail at home.
Basic rules for preparation and consumption
Before including a drink in your diet, you need to carefully read the basic requirements for its use and preparation:
Preparing a mixture of unprocessed foods can cause intestinal dysfunction and cause infection
Therefore, before cooking it, it is important to prepare all the ingredients and process them well. Most recipes include chicken and quail proteins. Egg whites can be contaminated with salmonella, which causes acute inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract
Therefore, to prepare the mixture you need to use only fresh proteins. You can check their freshness by simply dipping them in water. Do not use squirrels whose shells have been damaged. Do not use old or spoiled milk. It is not recommended to do too much. You need to make it so that it is enough only for one time. For people who don't like milk, it's better to spend more time and find recipes without milk, there are few of them, but they exist. You need to drink at a clearly defined time. Therefore, it is better to create a schedule for eating, training and taking the mixture.
These are the basic rules for preparing and drinking a cocktail. Their violation can cause the development of intestinal infections.
Therefore, a person who is not confident in his immunity should be especially careful when preparing the mixture. He is recommended to prepare it according to recipes that do not contain hazardous products
It is also important to check the expiration date of all products, especially milk, protein and cottage cheese
Recipes
The preparation method is simple - mix all the indicated products and beat with a blender.
| Recipe | Ingredients | Note |
| With cocoa and vanilla |
| The nuts must first be chopped and the berries mashed. |
| With peanuts and cottage cheese |
| First chop the nuts and mash the bananas. |
| With lemon, honey and milk |
| After obtaining a homogeneous mass, juice is squeezed out of half a lemon, which is added to the gainer before use. |
| With sour cream and rose hips |
| Mash the banana first. |
| With almonds and honey |
| Grind the almonds first. |
| With bran and berries |
| The products are processed with a blender twice: before and after adding milk. |
| With grapes, eggs and oatmeal |
| To easily separate the egg yolk from the white, use a funnel. |
| With raspberries and oatmeal |
| A serving contains about 30 g of protein. This gainer is best consumed after workouts or at night. |
| With orange and banana |
| The banana needs to be mashed. |
| With cottage cheese, berries and egg whites |
| Mash the berries first. |
| With strawberry |
| Chicken eggs can be replaced with quail eggs. |
| With dry milk and jam |
| It is better to take both types of milk low-fat or with a minimum percentage of fat content. |
| With coffee |
| Mash the banana first. |
| With dried apricots and peanut butter |
| It is better to take skim milk; instead of chicken, you can use quail eggs (3 pieces). |
Improper use of sports nutrition can lead to negative results
Are you aware that due to illiterate use of sports nutrition such as gainer, you can stop growing? In addition, this not entirely correct attitude towards yourself will make your intestines “angry”. Not all athletes bother themselves with the question of how to drink a gainer. The same can be said about other types of sports nutrition. And there is an opinion that the more a person drinks such drinks, the stronger he will eventually become. However, everything is not as simple as it might seem at first glance.
Those athletes who at one time meticulously figured out how to drink a gainer, accordingly, received impressive results. It should be noted that they take the training process more seriously. So what are the hidden principles of using sports nutrition?
Recipe from Boris Tsatsouline with slow carbohydrates
- 50 g oatmeal;
- 10 g bran (after 10 minutes of soaking it becomes completely soluble);
- 5-10 g fructose;
- protein scoop;
- 200 ml milk;
- berries (for aroma and taste).
The products are mixed in a blender or shaker.
The prepared gainer contains 40 g of slow carbohydrates. It costs much less than store-bought analogues.
Gainers contain different amounts of calories depending on the composition: from 380-510 kcal per 100 g.
You need to decide on the portion
First of all, you should carefully choose a specific serving size for yourself. The manufacturer usually writes on the packaging of sports nutrition those recommendations that are most suitable for already accomplished athletes. Their bodies are accustomed to a fast metabolism and heavy training. However, if you have just started visiting gyms with the goal of gaining muscle mass, then when answering the question of how to drink a gainer, you should immediately note that professional doses are not suitable for you. In this case, sports nutrition simply will not be absorbed.
Surely the bulk of the product consumed, as well as the money that was spent on its purchase, will be “flushed down the toilet.” It’s unlikely that this is exactly what you want when you’re thinking about buying sports nutrition.
For the night
Gainer for men and women has an excellent effect when taken regularly, but can it be taken at night? This should be done only if you are very thin and have an accelerated metabolism. Late intake allows you to gain muscle mass during the rest period.
People have a problem: with frequent consumption of the mixture at night, carbohydrates can lead to the growth of not muscles on the body, but the growth of fat deposits. Therefore, it is important that the cocktail does not include sugar, it must contain proteins and complex carbohydrates.
Norm per day
The number of techniques depends on whether there was training or not:
- On the day of training, the drink is taken immediately after or before it once a day.
- If it is not a training day, then the cocktail should be taken in between meals. You need to eat 5-6 times a day, and drink a drink 4-5 times a day.
If you follow the diet and the regimen of taking the mixture every day for at least a month, then you will notice a high-quality increase in muscle mass in a short time. It will also improve athletic performance and make training more intense.
Recovery
Many people believe that this mixture is taken to speed up muscle building. It also allows you to recover after physical activity. How much to take a sports gainer for these purposes? One serving is taken half an hour after class.
Some athletes use the mixture during preparation for competitions to maintain muscle tone and quickly recover for training. Gainer helps replenish glucogen in the blood - a complex carbohydrate that is required for the formation of muscle mass. Therefore, the drink is beneficial for the body if you follow the correct instructions for use.
Reception features
It is important to get individual advice on how and how much to drink gainer. But there are still general rules. It is taken in the form of a cocktail - the additive is mixed with liquid (milk, juice, kefir or water). How many grams of gainer should you drink per day? It should be added in the amount of 150 g per 2 cups of liquid. This is the norm. How many times should I take the gainer per day? The norm is distributed 2-3 times.
Many experts advise paying attention to the protein ratio and preparing a mixture based on it. It is important that it is no more than 30 g per dose, otherwise the body will not absorb the protein.
Taking a weight gainer for lean weight gain. It is advisable to do this 60 minutes before training. Otherwise, when exercising, you will feel a feeling of heaviness and fullness in your stomach. The product should be taken no later than 30 minutes after training. In this case, the mixture actively acts in the body: it leads to the restoration of glucogen levels in the blood.
